[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 226 (Monday, November 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66024-66026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22913]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed 
Transit Improvements in the Draper Corridor of Metropolitan Salt Lake 
City, UT

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Utah Transit 
Authority (UTA) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) to evaluate proposed public transportation improvements to extend 
fixed guideway transit service through the cities of Sandy and Draper 
to the southernmost part of Salt Lake County, Utah. The Wasatch Front 
Regional Council (WFRC) has adopted a long-range transportation plan, 
which is a comprehensive system plan and includes the full build-out of 
public transportation improvements in several corridors. The general 
alignments of the corridors have been identified in the approved plan. 
The Draper Transit Corridor has been identified in the plan as a two-
track extension of the existing North-South Light Rail Transit (LRT) 
line from its current terminus at 10000 South in Sandy to about 14600 
South in Draper along the UTA owned right-of-way. The Draper Transit 
Corridor Project, as defined in the WFRC long-range plan, was 
identified as the preferred alternative at the conclusion of a locally 
prepared alternatives analysis. The EIS will build on the results of 
the local alternatives analysis and evaluate other reasonable 
alternatives in accordance with appropriate statutes and regulations.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with section 102(2)c of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and pursuant to the 
Council on the Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), FTA/FHWA joint regulations (23 CFR 771) as well as provisions of 
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this notice is to alert 
interested parties regarding the intent to prepare the EIS, to provide 
information on the nature of the proposed project and possible 
alternatives, to invite public participation in the NEPA process 
(including providing comments on the scope of the DEIS), and to 
announce that

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a public scoping meeting will be conducted.
    The EIS will examine and evaluate a number of transit alternatives 
in the corridor including a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) 
Alternative. Any additional alternatives generated by the scoping 
process as well as the proposed station locations for the Build 
alternatives will also be considered. The alternatives will be compared 
to a No-Action Alternative for evaluation purposes.
    Scoping of the EIS will be accomplished through a public meeting, 
correspondence with interested persons, organizations and Federal, 
State and local agencies, and through a meeting with cooperating and 
participating public agencies. A scoping information packet will be 
posted on the UTA Web site at http://www.rideuta.com and hard copies of 
the packet will be distributed on request.

Meeting Dates

    Agency Coordination Meeting: An agency coordination meeting will be 
held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday December 11, 2007 at the Utah Transit 
Authority Meadowbrook office located at 3500 South 700 West, Salt Lake 
City, Utah.
    Public Scoping Meeting: A Public Scoping meeting to accept comments 
on the scope of the EIS will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 
from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Sprucewood Elementary, located at 12025 South 
1000 East, Sandy, Utah.
    The project's purpose and need, and the initial set of alternatives 
proposed for study will be presented at this meeting. Comments may be 
given verbally or in writing at the scoping meeting. Every reasonable 
effort will be made to meet special needs. The meeting location will be 
accessible to persons with disabilities. Individuals who require 
special accommodations, such as sign language interpreter, to 
participate in the meeting should contact Ms. Sherry L. Repscher, ADA 
Compliance Officer, Utah Transit Authority, 3600 South 700 West, Salt 
Lake City, UT 84119-0810 or by telephone at (801) 262-5626 or TDD at 
(801) 287-4657.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the following address by 
December 26, 2007: Mary DeLoretto, Utah Transit Authority, 3600 South 
700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84119 or [email protected]. The 
location of the public scoping meeting is given above under ``Meeting 
Dates''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Knighton, Deputy Regional 
Administrator, Region VIII, Federal Transit Administration, 12300 West 
Dakota Avenue, Suite 310, Denver, CO 80228. Telephone: 720-963-3327.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Scoping

    The FTA and UTA invite all interested individuals and 
organizations, public agencies, and Native American Tribes to comment 
on the scope of the EIS including the project's purpose and need, 
alternatives to be evaluated to meet the purpose and need; impacts to 
be evaluated, and the evaluation methods to be used. Comments should 
focus on refining the purpose and need statement, developing 
alternatives to meet the purpose and need that have comparable or lower 
cost and fewer adverse impacts, and on identifying specific social, 
economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated.

II. Description of the Project Study Area and Its Purpose and Need

    The Draper Transit Corridor Project study area begins in Sandy City 
just south of the current end-of-line 10000 South station of the UTA 
TRAX North-South LRT line. The study area is generally bounded by 10000 
South on the north, along 1300 East and one mile east and south of the 
UTA-owned railroad right-of-way on the east and south, and the western 
Draper City limits and Jordan River on the west. It is located 
primarily in the cities of Sandy and Draper, and includes parts of 
White City, South Jordan, and Bluffdale.
    The primary purpose of the Draper Transit Corridor Project is to 
extend LRT transit service to the southernmost geographic reach of the 
Salt Lake Valley. The overall goal of the proposed project is to 
improve mobility in the corridor by extending the existing UTA rail 
transit line in order to reduce congestion on arterial streets and I-15 
during peak travel periods and improve reliability of travel times. The 
UTA TRAX LRT extension increases transportation system capacity in 
South Salt Lake County.
    The public and participating and cooperating agencies are invited 
to consider and comment on this preliminary statement of the purpose 
and need for the proposed project.

III. Alternatives

    In addition to a No-Action Alternative, a range of reasonable 
alternatives will be evaluated in the EIS including, the locally 
preferred LRT extension in the UTA-owned right-of-way South. Additional 
alternatives to be considered include:
     Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Alternative: This 
alternative consists of the best transit service that can be provided 
to meet the project's purpose and need without building the LRT line 
extension.
     Other reasonable Build alternatives resulting from the 
project scoping process, including those that involve other modes or 
alignments and that satisfy the project purpose and need.
    The location of stations will also be developed and presented in 
the EIS for each build alternative that is advanced.

IV. Probable Effects

    The purpose of the EIS is to evaluate the environmental 
consequences of proposed alternatives for meeting the purpose and need 
for transit in the Draper corridor before committing financial and 
other resources to implementing the proposed project. The EIS will 
examine the extent to which the alternatives result in adverse 
environmental impacts and identify corresponding actions to eliminate, 
reduce, or mitigate those impacts.
    UTA and FTA will evaluate all significant environmental, social, 
and economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the EIS. Impact 
areas to be addressed include: Land use, zoning and economic 
development; secondary development; land acquisition, displacements and 
relocations; cultural resources (including impacts on historical, 
archaeological and paleontological resources); parklands/recreational 
areas; visual and aesthetic qualities; neighborhood compatibility; 
environmental justice; natural resource impacts (including air quality, 
wetlands, water resources, geology/soils, wildlife, threatened and 
endangered species; noise and vibration; and hazardous materials); 
energy; safety and security; utilities; traffic and transportation 
impacts and airport operations. Potential impacts will be addressed for 
the long-term operation of each alternative and the short-term 
construction period. Measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate all 
adverse impacts will be identified, evaluated, and adopted as 
appropriate.

V. FTA Procedures

    The regulation implementing NEPA, as well as provisions of the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), call for public involvement in the NEPA 
process. Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU requires that FTA and UTA do the 
following: (1) Extend an invitation to other Federal and non-Federal 
agencies and Native American tribes that may have an interest in the 
proposed project to become ``participating agencies;'' (2)

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provide an opportunity for involvement by participating agencies and 
the public to help define the purpose and need for a proposed project, 
as well as the range of alternatives for consideration in the EIS; and 
(3) establish a plan for coordinating public and agency participation 
in, and comment on, the environmental review process. An invitation to 
become a participating or cooperating agency, with scoping materials 
appended, will be extended to other Federal and non-Federal agencies 
and Native American tribes that may have an interest in the proposed 
project. It is possible that FTA and UTA will not be able to identify 
all Federal and non-Federal agencies and Native American tribes that 
may have such an interest. Any Federal or non-Federal agency or Native 
American tribe interested in the proposed project that does not receive 
an invitation to become a participating agency should notify the 
Project Manager identified above under ADDRESSES at the earliest 
opportunity.
    UTA is seeking federal assistance from the FTA to fund the proposed 
project under 49 United States Code 5309 and will, therefore, be 
subject to regulations (49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 611) 
related to New Starts projects.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA and its 
implementing regulation issued by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and with the FTA/Federal Highway 
Administration regulations ``Environmental Impact and Related 
Procedures'' (23 CFR part 771). In accordance with 23 CFR 771.105(a) 
and 771.133, FTA will comply with all Federal environmental laws, 
regulations, and executive orders applicable to the proposed project 
during the environmental review process to the maximum extent 
practicable. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the 
environmental and public hearing provisions of Federal transit laws (49 
U.S.C. 5301(e), 5323(b), and 5324); the project-level air quality 
conformity regulation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
(40 CFR part 93); The section 404(b)(1) guidelines of EPA (40 CFR part 
230); the regulation implementing section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (36 CFR Part 800); the regulation implementing section 
7 of the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR part 402); Section 4(f) of the 
Department of Transportation Act (23 CFR 771.135); and Executive Orders 
12898 on environmental justice, 11988 on floodplain management, and 
11990 on wetlands.

    Issued on: November 14, 2007.
Charmaine Knighton,
FTA Deputy Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. E7-22913 Filed 11-23-07; 8:45 am]
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